Saturday, May 28, 2011

ARGH!?!?!!?!? For the first time in over two years of doing a monthly top ten, I am simply unable to whittle the albums I have added to my collection this month down to a 'favourite ten'. Absolutely impossible this month and it's largely down to the fact that I have ordered practically everything available. So much sheer quality out there at the moment, it's difficult to give anything a miss.

The compilation features 12 tracks from some of the globe's most talented sound-designers. It is a subtly rewarding headphone listen from start to finish; curated and ordered to purposefully induce a state of sleep. Starting off minimally, gradually gathering tone and atmosphere, the experience goes on without ever boiling over or reaching a crescendo. Parts of the album are light and restful whereas traces of it tread darker territory. All in all, the imagery that the album conjurs sits perfectly as a soundtrack to the dreams one experiences during a nights sleep.

The artwork was put together by French artist Eric Lacombe (Monstror) who some may remember for his cover art collaborations for Spheruleus releases in the past. Here for 'In The Bleak Wilderness Of Sleep', his surreal imagery lends itself perfectly to this mysterious dream invoking soundtrack.

The limited edition CDr release comes housed inside a recycled card case with the cover artwork slipped inside and printed to photographic paper. Along with a CDr copy of the album itself, the tracklist will be printed to high quality salmon coloured paper/card. On the front, the album title will be rubber stamped in brown ink and on the back, the Audio Gourmet logo will be cut out by lazers. It will be hand-numbered in brown pen and limited to 200 copies.

*The first 50 copies will include a second bonus image, taken by select friends and photographers. These include:

Everyone who purchases the CD version will be entitled to a free and instant digital copy of the album. For those that wish to purchase a digital only version, this can be obtained as usual through the Audio Gourmet Bandcamp account.